Any wiped-out surfer knows all too well the back-breaking power of the ocean's waves. Now, a fledgling industry is harnessing the incessant motion of waves, tides and currents to create the world's newest form of renewable energy.

In the quest for oil-free power, a handful of small companies are staking claims on the energy of the rising and ebbing sea. Several newly minted companies are reserving tracts of water from Alaska's Cook Inlet to Manhattan's East River in the belief that such sites could become profitable sources of electricity.

Old Orchard Beach, Maine, could become host to a $4 million pilot project to harness energy from ocean waves and turn it into electricity. Maine and three other states are potential sites for a wave energy plant that would produce enough electricity to power 500 homes in its pilot phase.